Over at MobileIndustry.biz, they have an interview with Travis Boatman – EA’s Mobile Studios’ executive producer.  In it, a key point about mobile game distribution came up:

MobileIndustry.biz: While mobile handsets are selling well, some would argue that mobile gaming has yet to really take off. Consumers still aren’t always sure how to access the games that are on offer, there are concerns over the quality of the games. How does EA plan to overcome those kind of problems?

Travis Boatman: …If consumers could flip open their phone and – for free – play a demo or see a screenshot of the game, they can say to themselves, ‘Oh excellent, I know that that’s going to be a great product, that’s going to be a good thing to download.’ Then they download the game and have a great experience, and then come back again…

I agree about the demo. But a screenshot isn’t going to do it.  The Sidekick application distribution system uses a series of screenshots for each game, and more often than not, it’s not enough to assist in an informed purchase.  The customer needs a trial demo – especially for a genre of software that has proved time and time again to disappoint.  There are some diamonds in the rough, but there’s no way to tell what they are without demos.

Mobile games don’t have a lot of content to begin with, so I understand that studios may be wary to give users access to enough of it to get a sense of the game.  I know many people who just use the demo version of games on their phones – dealing with the time or level limitations – just because “it’s enough”.  Then they never buy the full game. 

That’s one of the reasons I’m in favor of ad-supported trial-ware.  Even if the customer never buys the full version, there’s still a revenue source in the trial versions.  This might be enough to take the edge off of giving them out.